Haja: United States and Manifest Destiny Essay

U.S
The people of the United States felt it was their mission to extend the "boundaries of freedom" to others by imparting their idealism and belief in democratic institutions to those who were capable of self-government. It excluded those people who were perceived as being incapable of self-government, such as Native American people and those of non-European origin.
To understand Manifest Destiny, it's important to understand the United States' need and desire to expand. The following points illustrate some of the economic, social and political pressures promoting U.S. expansion: • The United States was experiencing a periodic high birth rate and increases in population due to immigration. And because agriculture provided the primary economic structure, large families to work the farms were considered an asset. The U.S. population grew from more than five millon in 1800 to more than 23 million by mid-century. Thus, there was a need to expand into new territories to accommodate this rapid growth. It's estimated that nearly 4,000,000 Americans moved to western territories between 1820 and 1850. • The United States suffered two economic depressions — one in 1818 and a second in 1839. These crises drove some people to seek their living in frontier areas. • Frontier land was inexpensive or, in some cases, free. • Expansion into frontier areas opened opportunities for new commerce and individual self-advancement. • Land ownership was associated with wealth and tied to self-sufficiency, political power and independent "self-rule." • Maritime merchants saw an opportunity to expand and promote new commerce by building West Coast ports leading to increased trade with countries in the Pacific.

Mexico

One of the reasons the U.S/Mexican War. In 1845, with the most of the consent of its citizens, the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States. This was the underlying cause of the war. The problem was that Mexico objected to annexation, holding that Texas was still part of that country, even though Texans had fought and won their independence nearly ten years earlier and had been formally recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States, Great Britain, France, and other countries. While the United States put into motion a quest for its Manifest Destiny, Mexico faced quite different circumstances as a newly independent country. Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, but the country suffered terribly from the struggle. The war caused severe economic burdens and recovery was difficult. • Due to Mexico's economic system, there were fewer opportunities for individual self-advancement in the frontier regions and people were less motivated to relocate. Colonization was pushed primarily as part of the government's political agenda. • Constant warfare with Native Americans discouraged people from settling into the areas. •…

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Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was a belief that started in the 1840’s. This belief was the expansion of the United States “from sea to shining sea.” John O'Sullivan, a democratic leader, named the movement in 1845. Manifest destiny was just a phrase to help justify what they were doing. People in the early United States needed an excuse that what they were doing was right in order to help them feel better about what they did. As stated by Kinley Brauer, “Manifest Destiny is an emotive, quasi-religious…

The United States in 1846 was not justified in going to war with Mexico. The United States did not have proper justification to respond with violence against the Mexican government. The war with Mexico was also a product of the United States’ belief of Manifest Destiny. Polk’s over ambition to seize new territory from the Mexicans and disappointment over their refusal to sell him California also possibly played a factor in his willingness to wage war against Mexico. The United States under the…

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Manifest Destiny
Timeline
1803-1853
Cause & Effect

1803 Louisiana
Purchase –
America’s fierce
determination to
keep the port of
New Orleans open
and France’s costly
war against Britain.

Pages 319-320
Purchase has been
made, learning
about the territory
became more
important, Lewis &
Clark Expedition.
Growth of fur trade,
accurate maps
(open the west to
settlers), and clash
of cultures.
Cause & Effect

War of 1812 –
Impressments of
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Manifest Destiny: Chapter 17 FRQ
America’s borders were expanding at a rapid pace in the 1840’s. This mostly westward movement was widely known as Manifest Destiny, the belief shared by many that America was destined by God to expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean, that they had a God given right to the territory in the West. Because this belief in ‘God’s will’ most Americans had no problem with plowing through many already established villages and held no regard for the other countries that…

was its manifest destiny to expand westward. While there are different opinions on why that is – whether it be that we are superior or that it is our god given right, we have expanded our bounds across the continent. How we did this were through a number of different methods, which can be categorized under two methods; peaceful and violent. Under the peaceful category, the United States used methods such as purchasing and negotiating to obtain land and move west. On the other hand, the United States…

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O’Sullivan—“Manifest Destiny”: John L. O’Sullivan, a newspaper editor in New York City, was the premier supporter and spokesman for westward expansion. O’Sullivan backed Democratic President James Polk’s desire to annex Texas, Oregon, and California. In his support he wrote many articles and coined the term “Manifest Destiny” to describe America’s inevitable future occupying the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
John O'Sullivan, "Annexation," United States Magazine and…

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